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This suggestive Zesty cross stitch pattern is now available in my Etsy shop!Dark, Vast, and Zesty may sound somewhat like a double entendre, but it has a much more innocent origin. A family member got himself into an enormous financial mess that peaked when he had a life-threatening illness, and it took many of his friends and family to help dig him out of trouble (physically and financially). One person was entrusted to make an honest and extensive list of every debt and issue outstanding. When this person emailed the list to the others helping, he prefaced it by saying the list was “…dark, vast, and zesty,” which cracked me up!

Of course, “dark, vast, and zesty” could refer to a number of different situations, some more virtuous than others. I think it could add a fun air of mystery to greet your guests, with them thinking “just what the heck does that mean?” It remains a really funny line and a great reminder to find the humor in less than ideal circumstances whenever possible. [By the way, the family member is recovered and doing much better now.]

Variegated flosses are beautiful and by their very nature, they make every piece that uses them unique. No two people will ever use the exact same length of a floss in the same way, thus every project will have a different result! This makes creating with them an exercise in curiosity and a fun adventure. See the my series of Variegated Floss Projects to see a wide variety of projects that would look great in these color combinations!

This new Lightning cross stitch pattern (now available in my shop) is inspired by Serena Ryder’s outstanding song “Got Your Number.” The song is an empowering kick-butt break-up rocker in a similar vein as the Eurythmics’ “Would I Lie To You?” According to some online song lyric websites, this line actually is “See my lightning in my bottle” but I may have mis-heard the second half as “hear my thunder” and to tell the truth, I like it better! [No disrespect to Serena as her song kicks serious ass!] This misunderstanding counts among my favorite personal Mondegreens…

The project uses white, three shades of grey, and I stitched the lettering in DMC E940 glow in the dark floss (also available in my Etsy shop). The photo below shows the project in black light and I love how the lettering glows while the white floss core of the lightning bolt pops! The photo below shows the lettering glowing in the dark – it actually glows brighter than that but it’s tough to photograph effectively. It’s still very cool, though…I considered using a cartoon-like lightning bolt for this project but it just didn’t feel right. This project really started to come together when I started working with a photo of a real lightning bolt. I’d be curious to see how this project would look stitched on a white canvas with color in the lightning and lettering. Hm…

I’m not sure if this song got much airplay in the States as I only heard it on Canadian Broadcasting when I was very near the western Canada/US border in January 2017. However, the song is available at least on Amazon (where I purchased it). Please check out her great song and stitch this empowering lightning cross stitch pattern!

This “Big Spender” Pop my Cork cross stitch pattern is now available in my Etsy shop!This suggestive project is a lyric from the song “Big Spender.” The song was written for the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity. It was a big hit for Shirley Bassey in 1967 and it continues to be one of her signature songs. Although the song is hardly a feminist rallying cry, I’ve always liked the line “I don’t pop my cork for every man I see” as a great “nasty woman” sentiment.

From her very humble beginnings in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, Shirley Bassey’s career has spanned well over 60 years. In January 1959, she was the first Welsh person to gain a U.K. Number 1 single, and in the ensuing years her career was so remarkable that she was made a Dame for her “services to the performing arts.”

If I were a single person, I could easily see this Pop my Cork cross stitch pattern displayed in my house as a subtle challenge to potential suitors. I consider it’s essence to be “if you don’t treat me well, don’t expect much in return” which is a good philosophy for everyone!